The present invention relates to liquid containers and more particularly to the type of jug used to carry liquid refreshments on outdoor outings generally in one or two gallon capacity insulated containers.
Such jugs are generally popular on family picnics where they are easily handled, being fairly easy to carry and of sufficient capacity to serve several people.
Since several people are served and each one several times during the course of the outing, it has been considered necessary to also carry along a supply of cups. If the cups are of the disposable type then a large supply may be required during the course of the day during the outing. On the other hand, if not disposable, or not disposed but saved for multiple use, one is subjected to the inconvenience of retaining these where they may be useable by those drinking the liquid from the jug.
Prior patentees have attempted to increase the convenience by having the cups carried with the liquid container.
Engram in U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,300; Huck in U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,132; and Triglia in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,917 place nested cups under the cap of the jug but in doing so limit the type of cup which can be used and interfere with the filling of the jug. All cups and the insert holding them must first be removed before access for refilling or adding to the contents of the jug is possible. Also opening of the cap allows contamination, i.e. insects everpresent at picnics, of the contents of the liquid in the jug.
Savage in U.S. Pat. No. 1,665,179 and Zillmann in U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,596 have avoided the need to open the jug to obtain use of the cups but still require removal of the cup holder and all cups to obtain entrance to the jug and its liquid contents thus making it somewhat inconvenient to add to the liquid contents from reserve sources.
Phillips in U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,739 avoids the shortcomings mentioned above but with the need to raise the liquid container each time it is desired to obtain a cup, the size of the container is severely limited such as to a carafe as in the Phillips patent. Larger containers such as the one or two gallon, or more, containers which are contemplated with the present invention, would be quite unweldly to use with the structure of Phillips.